Wichita man pleads guilty in shooting outside church where he was refused access to funeral
A 19-year-old Wichita man has pleaded guilty to charges connected to a shootout in the parking lot of a church where a funeral was being held.
Authorities have said Demetrius S. Carter opened fire outside of New Life Church and Outreach Center, 1156 N. Oliver, after he was denied entry into services for a car crash victim, 19-year-old Johnathan D. McPherson-Pickett, because he had a gun and had been disrespectful in the past.
He also made threats to shoot up the funeral in the weeks leading up to it, a probable cause affidavit says witnesses told law enforcement.
Wichita police have said Carter fired into a crowd around 1:30 p.m. after McPherson-Pickett’s family told him he couldn’t attend. Some people in the crowd shot back in response, police said previously. The violence caused chaos, scattering dozens of attendees and leaving vehicles and homes riddled with bullets.
A number of children were at the funeral, including infants and toddlers, the probable cause affidavit says.
Police found Carter around the corner from the church with a gunshot wound to his forearm. He was later arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated endangering a child and one count of criminal damage to property.
On Aug. 9, ahead of a scheduled jury trial, he pleaded guilty to two of those counts, both aggravated endangering of a child, according to Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Dan Dillon and court records. The rest of charges were dismissed under a plea deal.
He is set for sentencing on Sept. 26.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Carter faces five to 17 months in prison on each count, depending on his prior criminal history, according to his plea agreement. Prosecutors plan to ask for the maximum penalty Carter is eligible for and that his sentence run consecutive to other cases. Carter can ask for a more lenient sentence.
Under the agreement, Carter also agreed to pay restitution for property damage. The exact amount will be determined later.
Carter previously pleaded not guilty in the case.
